Eagle Scout's dream lives on

COMMENTARY

November 15, 2008|By Darryl E. Owens, Sentinel Columnist

Simon Sharp could have been the poster child for Scouting -- the kind of Boy Scout who lived the creed, served his community, respected elders and embraced people with friendship. A born leader his fellow Scouts admired.

Bradley Trowbridge came up in Scouting with Simon, looked up to his senior patrol leader, and wouldn't shrug at going that extra mile if Simon asked.

At 11 this morning, friends, families, and veterans will meet at Founder's Park in the Osceola County community of Celebration. They'll gather to dedicate The Celebration Veterans Memorial, the labor of love that Simon, who belonged to Boy Scout Troop 125, chose for his Eagle Scout project.

In doing so, they'll celebrate a special pact, born of a friendship so strong that Bradley refused to allow Simon's dream to go unfulfilled even after his friend passed away.

Three summers ago, Simon sold commemorative American flag pins on the Fourth of July. The pins brought in $7,000, and his project was off and running. But the following month, life tripped Simon up. He fell ill, stricken with an aggressive form of leukemia.

With Simon undergoing treatment, and fighting fevers, nausea and pneumonia, his comrades tended to his project. They raised more than $12,000 toward the $40,000 budget.

Halfway through Simon's 30-month treatment regimen, doctors knew the cancer would win -- long before the monument ever would come to fruition.

But Simon was determined he'd die an Eagle Scout. Last November, he slid off his oxygen mask, endured his Eagle Scout interview, and, one last time, gasped the Scout Oath.

He died the next day at age 16.

But he made sure his dream would live on. Bradley didn't know why his friend had to die so young. But he knew this much: The race Simon had begun was one he'd finish.

There were challenges. The $40,000 budget swelled to $80,000. And even as the project got under way, Bradley faced a significant shortage.

"Especially after we started, I was very nervous that this might not happen," the 16-year-old says. "We were [short] $20,000, but finally made up the difference."

Bradley did his utmost to close the gap -- such as collecting about $7,500 at a recent Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention.

In the end, Simon and Bradley helped raise about $75,000.

The monument includes star-shaped paving, landscaping and a seat wall surrounding a 40-foot flagpole. It will also feature a plaque bearing Simon's name and image and the story behind the project.

Sometime this morning, Bradley will speak, thanking everyone who helped with a good word, a good deed or a good deal of money. But most of all, he'll remember the guitar-playing Scout who conceived it all.

"I'm so proud to finish this project, or actually to be a part of the project, to make sure his [Simon's] dreams came to completion," Bradley says.

Truth be told, the monument still could use a coat of paint, Bradley says. And another $5,000 for cosmetic repairs wouldn't hurt.

But he got it done. He kept his vow. Simon's dream lives.

"He'd probably pat me on the back and give me one of those crazy no-teeth smiles," Bradley says.

An old Army barracks ballad reminds us that old soldiers never die; they just fade away.

But thanks to an enduring friendship, generations will sing the praises of both fallen soldiers and a gone-too-soon Eagle Scout.